How to Escape Your Old Life

Howdy! April here to fill you in on the Our Vibe adventure progress!
So as some of you may or may not know me and Cole are finally escaping the wintery grip of Scotland and moving down south; but not before a backpacking trip round Europe!

For the past two months we have worked nonstop in full time jobs as well as coming home each night to continue working on Our Vibes and travel preparations. We've been trying to save up money for our trip round Europe as well as clear two credit cards worth of debt; totaling around £3,500. It's been a difficult time for us both so I'll give you a quick run down of what we've been doing...

THE STORY SO FAR

Three months before leaving:

Cole started working at a coffee roasters selling coffee to independent and chain cafes, pubs and garden centers. He's earning a lot and we start clearing one credit card quite quickly.

Two and a half months left:

We have a mass of bills to pay; electricity comes out, we both have to visit the dentist, Cole's car needs a service... we have no money to put into the card and it looks very unlikely we'll be able to pay off our debt with me only working part time.

Two months left to go:

I start working full time going door to door for charity. We're both earning a lot of money so we can finally start to clear debt! We also start to sell our stuff at car boots and online to make more money.

One month and a half:

We clear one credit card so only have 2,000 left to pay back. We're both tired of working full time and finding life quite difficult working different shift patterns to each other.

One month left:

Cole hands his notice into work thinking his boss will fire him on the spot... he doesn't, instead he offers to keep paying him, once we leave, to run the companies social media account. We clear the last credit card!

Three weeks left:

We've both been feeling ill the past week and couldn't work out why.. that's when we find the mold. The whole flat is covered is covered in it. A lot of our stuff is damaged beyond repair and we can no longer stay in the flat.

Two weeks left:

We bunk up at Cole's mum's house as she's away on holiday for a week. We spend our free time cleaning the mold at the flat, slowly packing up our stuff and storing it in his mum's attic. I hand my notice in.

One week to go:

It's an emotional week. We're both struggling to keep up as we haven't had a rest day in so long. This is the final hurdle but we still have so much to sort! We've saved £700 for our travels. We're feeling quite positive until Ryan Air cancels our flight...

Four days left (today):

After two hours waiting on Ryan Air to respond we switch flights to one leaving from Manchester on Tuesday. We've still lost money on a mega bus but hope Ryan Air will refund us. For our last four days we have to clear out the flat, pack bags for traveling, attend a party Saturday and store away the rest of our belongings. It's gonna be a long four days but we're so close to our new life now!

On a side note I've just had a call from Cole saying that our travel card has been hacked by two separate people and they have stolen the £100 we had on it. The claims company say we will be lucky if we see that money again... speaking from the heart it feels at the moment as if the whole world is against us moving. Problem after problem have hit us and I wonder if perhaps the universe is testing us. All I do know for sure is that no matter what the world throws at us, together, me and Cole can face anything and nothing will get in our way or break us down. I thank my lucky stars that I have Cole with me through this because he makes me fearless in the face of so many setbacks. Love ya bubs ❤️

If you are reading this while trying to escape your old life too then don't be disheartened by how rough we've had it. Even faced with endless problems there is always a solution and a positive to everything, so don't stress. You have to be determined to make things work regardless how hard it might be and in the end, it will be worth it when you've started your new life and the past is just a distant memory.

The point to all this?!

Cole and myself have a lot to do in the next few days as you can imagine so we won't be posting a video on Monday, do not fear though we will be posting else where ;)

We have an Instagram account which you can follow here, which you can keep up to date on our travel progress. (We post allllll the time! Haha)

We also will be posting regularly on this blog giving updates and travel advice for each place we visit. So don't forget to follow for more posts and like this one if you enjoyed it!

That's your lot for now folks as I need to rush off to work! Don't forget if you have any questions or need advice you can contact myself or Cole here.

Thanks for reading and let me know in the comments below which places in Europe you've visited and any places you wish you could travel to if money was no object.